Starting one school is hard. Scaling to two — or three — is a leadership test on an entirely different level.
Ashli Kamaran’s journey highlights this evolution with humor, honesty, and realistic leadership lessons. When she expanded her single preschool into a growing multi-school operation, she learned that running early childhood centers was as much about people management as it was about curriculum.
School #2 didn’t just require teachers; it required culture-bearers — individuals who upheld the values of curiosity, kindness, and professionalism. Hiring, training, and nurturing staff became the backbone of the expansion.
But with growth came an entirely new set of challenges:
- Teacher turf wars (yes, even over songs like “Wheels on the Bus”)
- Admin disputes over filing systems
- Balancing old culture with new energy
- Managing personalities, insecurities, and ambitions
- Creating consistency across locations
Kamaran’s leadership takeaway?
Building a preschool empire is less about business strategy — and more about emotional intelligence, patience, and adaptability.
It’s about knowing when to mediate, when to guide, when to restructure, and when to simply laugh. It’s understanding that teachers are the heart, directors are the architecture, and culture is the invisible force that binds everything together.
Entrepreneurs in the education sector can learn from her experience: growth is not about scaling a building. It’s about scaling belief, trust, and shared purpose.
